There are certainly many different types of theft in the United States. Some are relatively minor, such as taking something from the grocery store. Others are far more major, such as embezzling millions of dollars from a business.
But some economists claim that the single largest cause of theft in the United States every year is wage theft. This is theft perpetuated by businesses and corporations against their own employees. Not only that, but wage theft largely goes under-reported and unrecognized.
How does it happen?
There are a lot of forms of wage theft, which is part of what makes this a difficult thing for workers to address. For instance, if an employee works overtime and is then only paid at their standard rate, that’s an example of wage left because they have earned the overtime rate. If an employee is given tips and then those tips are taken by a manager or the business owner, that’s also wage theft.
Additionally problematic is wage theft when employees are leaving a job. A business may be obligated to pay someone for the hours that they already worked or the paid time off (PTO) that they accumulated. However, some companies will deny or delay these payments when an employee puts in their two weeks notice, hoping that the employee will simply give up trying to claim the money and move onto the next job. Once again, this is just a form of theft.
If you’ve experienced any of this, you know how frustrating it can be. It is important for you to understand all the legal options at your disposal.